Building wall construction unit



INVENTQR :fiusseZZ C. 631266 3 Sheets-Sheet l R. c. GRAEF BU ILDING WALLCONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed June 11,

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ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1936. R. c. GRAEF BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION UNIT FiledJune 1]., 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTOR ZzusseZZ C mefi ATTORNEY 1936-R. c. GRAEF BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION UNIT Filed June 11, 3Sheets-Sheet 3 iZyIZ a a .BIILLIll-Ell INVENTCR TTORNEY I BY. g

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Patented Dec. 8; 1936 I n V v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Russell 0.Gr'aef, Westfleltl, N. I. Application June 11, 1935, Serial No. 25,987

Claim!- (CL 72-45) This invention relates, generally, to building Fig. 1is a fragmentary perspective view showconstruction, and theinvention hasreference ing a building employing one arrangement of the moreparticularly to a novel building wall connovel wall construction of thisinvention. struction unit for use in the construction of resi- Fig. 2 isan enlarged fragmentary sectional s dences, industrial buildings, andother structures. view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking 5Heretofore, in the construction of buildings'it in the direction of thearrows.

has been generally necessary to employ co'nsider- Fig. 3 is aperspectiveview of one of the wall able labor in placing first the outside wallstrucconstruction units employed in Figs. 1 and 2. ture in place,whether this be masonry or wood, Fig. 41s an enlarged fragmentarysectional view In and then installing or adding the interior wall takenalong line 4-4 of Fig. 1 looking in the diconstruction. This excessivelabor cost greatly rectionof the arrows.

increases the investment in the building or other Fig. 5 is aperspective view of an interior parstructure. tition wall used inFig. 1. 4 The principal object of' the present invention Fig. 6 is adiagrammatical sectional view illus- II is to provide a novel buildingwall construction trating the manner of casting the outside wall unitthat is adapted to be produced at afactory layer. and then shipped tothe place of use, the said Fig. '7 is-a view similar to Fig. 6 and showsthe construction unit not only providing an outside manner of attachingthe intermediate insulating wall for the building or other structure inwhich wall portion or layer. it is to be used, but also providing theinner wall Fig. 8 is a view 'similarto 7, but illustrates of suchbuilding, the said building unit having the manner--01 forming theinside wall slab or insulating means incorporated therein for prelayer.venting the transmission of moisture, noise or Fig. 9 is a view similarto Fig. 8 and illustrates heat through the construction unit. one mannerof removing the casting forms.

5 Another object of the present invention lies in Fig. 10 is a sectionalview of the completed conthe provision of a novel construction unitcomstruction unit.

prising an intermediate layer of moisture, heat Fig. 11 is a verticalsectional view of abuilding and sound insulating material, and exteriorlayers employing a slightly modified construction of of reenforcedcementitious material, together building wall unit, the said view alsoillustrating with fastening means interconnecting the reentheconstruction of floors employing the features forcement of said exteriorlayers, said fastening of the present invention. means extending throughsaid intermediate layer. Fig. 12 is an elevational view of one of thewall and servingto retain said several layers in a units usedin Fig. 11.I

. unitary whole. Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line Stillanother object of the present invention is l3-l3 of Fig. 12 looking inthe direction of the 35 to provide a novel wall construction unit thatarrows. v is adapted to extend vertically the full height Fig. 14 is afragmentary perspective view illusof a single floor so that when thesaid unit is set trating the manner of placing the top plate or in placein use it is not necessary to add addilintel upon the assembled wallunits, and

4o .tional superimposedv units to complete the wall Fig. 15 is a view ofthe wire fastene u in 40 of such floor, the said construction unitthereby fabricating the wall of Fig. 11. requiring the use of but littlelabor in its installa- Similar characters of reference are employedtion, which labor may be of the unskilled type. in said views, toindicate corresponding parts. Still another .object of the presentinvention Referring now to Figs. 1 to 10 of the said drawlies in theprovision of the wall construction unit ings, the reference numeral Idesignates a build- 45 of the above character that is of simple,- sturdying employing the novel wall construction units and strong constructionand which is easily manof this invention. As especially illustrated inuiactured and conveniently and expeditiously Fig. 3, the outside wallconstruction unit, desighandled in use. I nated as a whole by thereference numeral 2,

Other objects of this invention, not at this comprises an outside slabfor wall layer 3 that is 50 time more particularly enumerated, will beclearly adapted to extend the full height of a floor of. understood fromthe following detailed descrip-' the building, i. e. the full height ofa room.

tion of the same. inwardly of the slab 3 there is provided an inter- Theinvention is clearly illustrated in the acmediate slab or layer 4 ofinsulating material,

5 eompanying drawings, in which; such ascork, fibre board, rock fibres,etc. ln-

vided an inner wall layer or slab which constiwet cement or a cementsand mixture.

tutes the inner wall of the building, the said inner wall layer beingillustrated in Fig. 3 as formed with an integral coving 6 adjoining itstop and a base-board molding I adjacent its bottom.

The manner oi! forming the wall construction unit 2 is especiallyillustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 and comprises the use of a suitable mold,such as the mold illustrated in dash lines in these figures. This moldis shown as having a bottom plate 8, endplates and similar opposite sideplates 9 provided with intermediate projections Ill. To produce theconstruction unit, the outside wall finish is first formed by placing inthe bottom of the mold a thin layer II of thedesired finishing materialwhich may be crushed rock, flaked limestone, or any other suitablebuildingmaterial either mixed or unmixed with The upper surface of themold bottom plate 8 is shown as provided with mutually spaced,longitudinally extending molding strips I 2 that serve to formOrnamental flutes or grooves in the finished outside wall surface of theunit. It will be apparent that the molding strips l2 may have anydesired shape or size depending upon the wishes of the particular user,or these molding strips may be omitted altogether, if a plain, flatexterior wall surface is desired.

Upon the thin layer ll there is poured a'backing I 3 of a concretemixture, preferably employ- ,ing gravel or cinders as the largeaggregate.

The backing I3 is adapted to extend in the mold as high as theprojections Ill, and these pro-- jections may be removable, if desired,to enable the ready pouring of the backing IS. The thin finishing layerH together with its backing ll constitute the outside slab 3 of the wallunit. Immediately after pouring the backing I3, and

before the same has had a chance to harden, the intermediate insulatinglayer 4 is overlaid upon the backing i3. This intermediate layer 4carries a reenforcing rod l4 that is supported from the layer 4 by meansor wire staples II which are driven through the intermediate layer 4,thebights it of these staples l4 serving to support the reenforcing rodl4. As the intermediate layer 4 is placed upon the soft backing II, thebights 18 of the staples l5 and the reentorcing rods l4 settle or sinkdown into the body of the backing l3, as shown in Fig. 6, therebyserving to reenforce this concrete backing IS. The intermediate layer 4is of such width as to fill the space between the projections III of themold,

the upper surface of the layer 4 being flush with v the upper surfacesof projections l0.

Transverse reenforcing bars or rods I l are now laid so as to extendcrosswise of the mold, as shown in Fig. 8, and the free ends of the wirestaples I 5 are twisted, as shown at l8, around these rods I1, therebyfirmly tying the rods I! to the rod-i4. The inside wall or slab 5 is nowcast or poured into the mold, the said slab being formed either 01'concrete, plaster or a suitable cement mixture.

If a coving, such as the coving 6 of Fig. 3 is.

to be provided on the inner surface of slab 5,

this coving is cast simultaneously with the slab,

and the same is true of the base-board molding 1. After the-inside andoutside slabs! and 3 harden, the mold side plates 9 may be removed,

as shown in Fig. 9, thereby producing the completed wall'constructionunit I, as shown n H8- ing complete rooms, as shown in Fig. l.

amen

10. The spaces or grooves IO formed in the edges of the now integralconstruction unit, provide rabbets for receiving blocks 20 (seeespecially Fig. 2) of insulating material such as cork, which blocks areadapted to project into the 5 spaces IQ of adjoining construction units.

' In use, the foundation wall II of the building I may be provided witha depression or groove 22 (see Fig. 1) in its upper surface forconfomiably receiving the lower ends of the construction units 2. Inassembling these units to form the buildingwall, it is merely necessaryto set the lower ends of the same into the depression or groove 22, theoutside wall slab 3 facing the exterior of the building. The units 2 arepreferably of such width as to enablethe same to be carried by a coupleof men and manually set into place on the foundation wall 2|. Aftersetting one of these units in place a block 20 of insulating material,such as' cork ofthe same width as the intermediate insulating layer 4,is inserted into the rabbet or groove 19 of the unit, whereupon anotherbuilding unit is placed in abutting relation to the first laid buildingunit, the block 20 also projecting into the rabbet I 9 of such buildingunit, thereby forming a continuous side wall, as shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, the vertical cracks or lines of juncture of adjoiningbuilding units 2 can be pointed up with cement or other binder such as asuitable mastic. The building units used at the comers are especiallyshown in Fig. 2, the said units comprising an outside wall slab 3' ofangle shape in cross section, and an inside wall 5' also of angle shape.The inside and outside wall slab re'eniorcements are interconnected bythe staples l5, as previously described. The intermediate insulatingslab or layer 4 of the corner building unitis shown as made up of twopieces of insulating material such as cork arranged at right angles. Thevertical lines of juncture of the inside slabs} may also be pointed upwith a plaster, cement or a mastic, if desired.

The reenforcing rods l4 of the exterior slabs 3 preferably projectsomewhat above the tops of the slabs, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, toaiiord means for securing the building plates 24 upon the tops 01' theunits 2, as especially shown in Fig. 1, the said upper projecting endsof rods H extending through apertures in plates 24 and being bent overor headed at l4 (see Fig. 1), thereby securing the plates 24 to theunits 2.

An interior partition wall, designated 25 in the drawings,(seeespecially Fig. 5) comprises two inner wall slabs i spaced apart byan interme- 5 diate insulating slab 4. The manner-of casting thisintermediate partition wall unit 25 will be apparent after thedescription already given inconnection with the casting of unit 2. Asshown in,

Fig. 5, the inner wall slabs 5 may be formed with cpvings Sandbase-boards 1, although either or 7 both of these ornamental featuresmay be omitted. The interior wall partition units 25 are assembled-orinstalled in the building in the same manner as the construction units2, thereby form- When the rooms of one floor are complete, it is merelynecessary to lay a :floor on the tops of the walls thus provided,preparatory to setting up the construction units for forming anotherfloor of the building, the horizontal lines of juncture of thesuccessive floors of building units being closed, if desired, withcement or other material.

The building thus produced is not only exceedingly strong, but ismoisture proof, sound prooi', 15

and will hold heatbetter than most forms of building construction. Theoutside layer or slab 3 with its reenforcement gives great strength tothe building and the inside slab 6 also possesses great strength owingto its unitary and reenforced nature, whereas the intermediate layer orslab l of insulating material positively prevents passage of moisture,heat and sound between the inner and outer layers. The blocks 20 ofinsulating material completely block or seal the joints betweenadjoining construction units, thereby providing a tight wall throughout.

In Figs. 11 to 15 a slightly modified construction of the wall unit isdisclosedythe said unit being designated by the reference numeral 26.The construction unit of these figures comprises an outside wall slab 21made up in the same manner as the exterior wall slab 3, only the wallslab 21 is shown as having additional reenforcement in the form-of metalmesh 28 which is preferably interlaced with the reenforcing rod 14. Theunits 26 are also shown as'having two of the reenforcing rods ll insteadof one. In these figures instead of using staples for interconnectingthe reenforcement of the outside slab to the inside slab, wire fasteners29 are used, although it will be apparent that staples could be used, ifdesired. The wire fasteners have their outer hooked ends 30 engaging thereenforcing rods l4 and their inner ends twisted around the reenforcing3| of the inner layer or slab 32. This reenforcing 3| is illustrated inthese figures as also comprising wire mesh. The intermediate layer 33 isof insulating material, such as cork, just as in the case of theintermediate layer of unit 2. The exterior surface of outside slabs 21are shown as provided with'a single ornamental depression 34 instead ofa plurality of grooves.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 11 to 15 the interior wallcoving 6' is shown as formed as a separate unit and comprlsesa part ofthe building plate, designated by the reference numeral 35. Thisbuilding plate is shown as formed of concrete and is rabbeted at 36 forreceiving a wood block 31 to which rafters 36 may be nailed; suitablefasteners 39 being employed to secure the blocks 3'! to the plate'35.These plates 35 are provided with vertical apertures 40 into which thefree upper ends of reenforcing rods 14 are adapted to project. Aftermounting the plates 35 upon the building units 26, the apertures 40 arefilled with cement, thereby securing these building plates in place uponthe units 26.

In these figures, the reenforcing rods ll are also shown as extendingdownwardly below the lower ends of slabs 21 for projecting into holes llprovided in the foundation wall 42 which is illus-- trated as having aflat top and is not necessarily provided with a groove for receiving thewall units 26. The lower depending ends of rods 14 serve to anchor theunit 26 upon the wall 42. To facilitate the assembly of the units 26,their upper ends are illustrated as provided with recesses 43 forreceiving staples M which serve to tie the upper ends of adjoining unitstogether, as shown in Fig. 14. These staples may also be provided at thebottoms of units 26, if desired.

In Fig. 11 I have also disclosed floors made up in accordance with theprinciples of this invention. These floors comprise upper and lowerexterior slabs 45 and 46, respectively, which may be made of a concretemixture reenforced with wire mesh l6, and reenforcing rods 8 similar torods H. Rods 48 are interconnected by wire fasteners 29 which extendthrough the intermediate insulating layer 49, just as in thepreviousunits 2 and 26. Insulating blocks 20' also serve in the doorconstruction for sealing the Joints of the adjacent floor units 50.These units 50 are adapted to be hand laid upon the supportin foundationand assembled in the same manner as the units 2 and ,26.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the followingclaims, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in .a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A building wall construction unit having finished inner and outerwall surfaces comprising, an intermediate layer of insulating materialand adjoining exterior layers of cementitious material, said exteriorlayers having reenforcement therein, and tie links extending completelythrough said intermediate layer with their end portions engaged aroundthe reenforcement of said exterior layers in anchored relation thereto,to thereby secure said intermediate and exterior layers in unitedrelation, the side edges of said intermediate layer. terminatinginwardly of the side edges of said exterior layers to provide keyreceiving recesses, and separable key blocks of insulating material forreception in the opposed key receiving recesses of adjoining buildingconstruction units for interconnecting the same and for sealing thejoints between said units thereby forming a substantially continuousinsulation layer coextensive with the entire wall areaformed by saidinterconnected units.

2. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid intermediate layer of insulating material and said key-blockscomprise cork slabs.

3. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein aportion of the reenforcement of at least-one of said exterior layersincludes a vertically disposed metallic rod having its upper end portionprojecting beyond the upper end of the unit for penetration andretention of a building plate imposed upon the latter.

4. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein atleast one of the exterior layers includes a transverse base moldingintegral therewith.

5. A building wall construction unit, as defined in claim 1, wherein thereenforcement of one exterior layer comprises vertically disposedmetallic rods and the reenforcement of the other exterior layercomprises horizontally disposed metallic rods.

RUSSELL C. GRAEI

